I Am The Swarm

“Look! What’s that?”

A crew member spotted a strange object in Great Dawn Planet’s orbit through the ship’s observation instruments.

The lens zoomed in.

“Alien satellites!”

“Wait, look at this emblem.”

“Our Riken insignia? These are ours? But we haven’t deployed any satellites yet, and I’ve never seen ones like these before.”

“I’ve seen pictures before. This is a model from a century ago. I get it now—these are the satellites the Cat’s Ear Spaceship deployed back then.”

“These are ancient relics. If they didn’t bear our insignia, I wouldn’t have recognized them.”

“But wait—if an alien civilization exists here, why would they tolerate these things floating above their heads?”

Minutes later, the captain arrived.

“Well done, everyone. This is a major discovery.”

Several small ships detached from the warship, collecting the satellites and bringing them back.

The Riken immediately began studying the satellites. Since they were their own creations, albeit from a prior era, they were relatively easy to understand despite the technological gap.

“These are indeed ours,” confirmed an engineer. “Look here—back then, engineers liked to add little personal marks. See this one? It’s an abbreviation of ‘Hopper,’ who was a technician aboard the Cat’s Ear Spaceship. I know about him because he was a prominent figure in my field.”

Others nodded but scratched their heads. The lingering question remained—why were these satellites still in orbit?

The answer, of course, was Luo Wen’s doing. Years ago, the Swarm had dismantled all satellites around Great Dawn Planet.

Those satellites had been torn apart and reassembled with noticeable signs of tampering. To avoid arousing suspicion, the Swarm had replaced them with unused satellites captured from the Cat’s Ear Spaceship. These satellites, being intact and functional, didn’t store data, making them perfect for Luo Wen’s deception.

The goal was to confuse any future intruders. At worst, the ruse would serve as a distraction. At best, it could create significant confusion—just as it was doing now.

“Captains, the situation has been reported. What are your thoughts?”

“When the Cat’s Ear Spaceship was at T853, it didn’t seem to face any attacks, did it?”

“So, the aliens really don’t require an oxygen-rich environment to survive?”

“What could their lifeforms be like?”

“Have the drones found anything on T853? Especially that monster?”

“Nothing yet. This is just a primitive planet with unintelligent beasts. As for that powerful creature, it’s likely hiding in the ocean.”

“In that case, the aliens’ base must be at T855. We can establish a base on T853 and modify its environment while we’re at it.”

“Agreed. Modifying a habitable planet and preparing for war can be done simultaneously. Since they don’t need it, they can’t complain if we take it.”

“Seconded!”

After lengthy discussion, they decided to build a space city at T853 and simultaneously begin terraforming the planet.

Building a city on a habitable planet was much easier than on others. They only needed to filter out harmful gases; the rest of the environment was similar to the Riken homeworld.

Large construction modules were dropped directly onto the planet’s surface. With the help of massive engineering equipment, they quickly erected a fortress.

Being on the front line of a war, the space city was also designed for defense. Once completed, it could house over 20,000 people without protective gear and was equipped with a variety of powerful defensive weapons.

“Captain, how about we hunt a Bull Demon tonight? The lab has figured out how to process its meat,” suggested a member of a Riken armed patrol squad during a night mission.

The Riken expedition force numbered in the millions, but not all troops were elite, as was the case with the Cat’s Ear Spaceship crew. Most were ordinary soldiers. This particular patrol unit was one of the most typical, with just ten members.

“Yeah, Captain, let’s go for it. I’ve never had real meat before.”

“Me neither! Team 0763 bagged a Direwolf yesterday. They took it to the lab and brought back two wolf legs. The grilled meat smelled amazing!”

“Shut up! We’re on duty. Stay alert.” The captain’s stern tone reflected his greater sense of responsibility.

“Our drones are patrolling the area—they’re better than our eyes. Besides, it’s just a bunch of wild beasts here. What’s there to worry about?” one team member muttered.

“Kendall, shut up, or I’ll have you disciplined,” the captain barked.

“Fine, fine,” Kendall grumbled under his breath. At just over twenty years old when they left the homeworld, he had a young man’s recklessness. Feeling slighted, he slung his weapon over his shoulder and headed into the brush. “I’m going to take a leak,” he said without waiting for permission.

The captain sighed but let him go. A veteran soldier, he had participated in colonial battles and understood the seriousness of war. Relaxation during a mission was a dangerous luxury.

The two-meter-high grass significantly hindered visibility, even for the equally tall Riken. Advanced instruments were their primary means of surveillance.

Twenty minutes passed.

“Where’s Kendall? Why hasn’t he returned?” The captain, unused to the quiet absence of Kendall’s chatter, counted heads and asked the group.

“Maybe he’s got stomach trouble. I heard he ate some of that wolf meat from Team 0763 yesterday—maybe it didn’t sit well,” joked another soldier, prompting laughter.

“Or maybe he’s off hunting.”

“Could be. He doesn’t follow protocol. Captain, you should really punish him when he gets back.”

The captain ignored the banter, his instincts sensing something amiss. He activated the team’s comms. “Kendall? Kendall! Where the hell are you? Get back here immediately!”

After several unanswered calls, the team realized the situation might be serious. The captain turned to one member. “Gade, send a drone to check it out.”

A drone launched from Gade’s console and flew in Kendall’s last known direction. The dense grass and darkness impeded its vision, but switching to thermal imaging quickly located Kendall 300 meters away.

Descending for a closer look, the drone revealed Kendall lying prone on the ground, with no visible injuries.

“What’s going on? Is he asleep?”

“Shut up! Do you even have a brain?” The captain was exasperated. These rookies, with no combat experience, were difficult to manage. They carried an unwarranted arrogance, dismissing the native species entirely.

“Bublen, Sig, hold this position and guard Gade. The rest of you, follow me. Unlock your weapons’ safeties and stay alert for anything unusual.”

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